Minor League Ball Gameday, August 4

Good afternoon prospect watchers. I hope your weekend is going well. Down to business.

***Yesterday's Minor League Ball Gameday thread.

***As we head into August, teams are promoting more prospects. The latest big name to move up is New York Yankees catching prospect Gary Sanchez, who was promoted from High-A Tampa to Double-A Trenton yesterday. As Tanya Bondurant at PinstripeBible points out, Sanchez has been in a slump recently and is hitting .150 in his last 10 games, but overall he's had a solid season at age 20 in the Florida State League. He continues to progress defensively, has thrown out 46% of stealers this year while reducing his passed ball and error rates.

***Boston Red Sox lefty Henry Owens is another big promotion and he was outstanding in his debut for Double-A Portland yesterday, fanning 11 in six shutout innings against Bowie.

***The Mariners promoted outfielder Jabari Blash to Double-A Jackson. He went 1-for-4 with a homer in his first at-bat yesterday. The 24-year-old has some of the best power in the farm system but his overall .258/.358/.505 line down at High Desert was not impressive for context. Still, he has an intriguing power/speed mix (16 homers, 14 steals) and now we have a chance to evaluate him in a more challenging environment.

***Atlanta Braves prospect Tommy La Stella, one of my favorite sleepers, continues to rake for Double-A Mississippi. He went 3-for-4 yesterday and now has a 21-game hitting streak. He is now hitting.365/.450/.490 in 60 games, with an incredible 30/19 BB/K ratio in 208 at-bats. He's an older prospect at age 24, but his defense at second is better than commonly realized and he's hit at every level.